After a large meal, this is just the right dessert – it’s light, slightly sweet, and toasted almonds give it a pleasing crunch. If you have extra berries lying around, feel free to mix them with the oranges. If you’re in a really decadent mood, add a tablespoon or two of Grand Marnier to the cream before you whip it to give it an extra punch.

Serves: 8

Preheat oven to 350˚ F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and line it with parchment paper. Grease again and flour it. Cream butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add zest and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add almonds. Add 1/3 of this dry mixture to batter. Mix until just combined. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk and mix. Repeat process of alternately adding dry and wet ingredients to batter. Pour batter into cake pan and bake for 50 minutes, until top is light golden brown or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Add cream, almond extract, and sugar to bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks have formed, about 2–3 minutes.

Slice cake in half horizontally. Place one generous layer of oranges and juice on bottom half of cake. Spread half of whipped cream on top of orange layer. Sprinkle with sliced almonds. Add top layer of cake, press down gently, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Cut cake into slices and serve each slice with a large spoonful of whipped cream, oranges, and dusting of almonds.